Shipping container



March 17, 1942. E. FRIED SHIPPING CONTAINER l Filed Feb. 23, 1939 3 `Sheets-Shea?I l INVENTOR March 17, 1942. E. FRIED SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Feb. .23, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet v2 INVENTOR [1e/v5.57 FQ/f Patented Mar. 17,` 1942 SHIPPING CONTAINER Ernest Fried, New York, N. Y.

Application February 23, 1939, Serial No. 257,918

2 Claims.

This invention relates to packing and transportation cabinets for clothing and the like. In the transportation of ready-to-wear clothing such as dresses or suits, difficulty is experienced in the mussing of the garments during transportation and it has frequently been necessary heretofore on receipt of the garments to have them re-pressed before being exhibited for sale.

Numerous attempts have been made to provide shipping containers which would avoid this. For example it has been proposed to hang the garments upon hangers and then pack the hangers in a horizontal position for shipment, but

it has not proven satisfactory and has not avoided the necessity of re-pressing the garments.

In accordance with this invention the garments are placed upon hangers and the hangers are held with the garments in vertical position within the container during shipment so that the weight of the garments is so -disposed as to keep the garments in shape instead of mussing them as heretofore.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a container made in. accordance with this invention, parts being in section to show the interior construction. Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof also partly in section. Figure 3 is a detail of the locking mechanism Ifor locking the hangers in place. Figure 4 is a similar detail with the hangers released. Figure 5 is a top plan detail of the construction shown in Figure 4. Figures 6 and 7 are vertical sections on the lines 6--6 and 1-1 of Figure 3. Figure 8 is an alternative Ilocking mechanism. Figure 9 is a fragmentary central cross section showing an alternative mechanism for bringing the hangers to the front of the device. Figure 10 is a fragmentary longitudinal section of the same. Figure 11 is a detail thereof.

The device consists primarily of a casing IU mounted upon .casters II. This casing is rectangular in plan and may be provided with an arched roof I2. At one end the casing is provided with a door I3 which may be hinged in any suitable manner and closed with a lock I4.

Mounted in the upper portion of the casing `and extending longituidnally thereof is a mechanism I5 for supporting the hangers which may advantageously be made as a unitary structure, if desired. The casing itself is formed of a` framework of T beams I6 welded together to which are attached by any suitable means outer facing material Il completely to enclosethe structure.

As illustrated, this framework is composed of vertical beams I8 to which are welded longitudinal beams I9 and transverse beams 20, to

which the sheets I'l are either welded or riveted to form a complete enclosure :for the garments. The roof I2 is supported by transverse members 2I which are preferably curved to form to the contour of the roof and to these members are attached the cover sheets 22. The sheets I'I and the sheets 22 may be of a single thickness of metal but I prefer to employ a double thickness, one sheet 23 being of insulating material and the other of metal in order to give a better protection to the garments.

The garment supporting the mechanism I5 may comprise a pair of brackets 24 attached to the members 2l or to a longitudinal beam ISb which runs along the ridge of the roof. These brackets 24 support a rod 25 on which the garment hangers are carried. Parallel to the rodf25 is the locking member 26 which is movable from a position pressing against the hangers on the rod 25 to a position away from the said hangers to 'free them. As shown, this locking member 25 (see Figure 3) is pivoted at one end by a vertical pin 21 to a member 28 which is pivoted in turn by a horizontal pin 29 to an intermediate link 30 which again in turn is pivoted by a horizontal pin 3I to a member 32 attached to the bracket 24. The other end of the locking member 2B is provided with means to cause it to rest upon the hangers on the rod 25 or to be supported to the side of the said rod 25 to free the garments. To this end the member 26 is preferably made channel shaped so as to rest upon the hangers and it is provided with an opening 33 which may be caught over a hook 34 disposed to one side of the rod 25.

The proportions of the link 30 and the position of the hook 34 are such that when the member 26 is hooked over the hook 34 the link 30 is raised horizontally lifting the member 26 above the rod 25 at the back end (see Figure 4) and the front end is held to the side and above the rod 25 so that the rod 25 is free |from interference from the member 26.

As soon, however, as the locking member is unhooked from the hook 35 and placed over the rod 25 it rests upon the hook portions of the hangers which are on the rod.

Means are provided for locking the member 26 against the hooks comprising, as shown in Figure 3, a link 36 pivoted to the member 2lb at 31. This link 36 is of such size and position that in its downward position when the link is substantially vertical it bears firmly against the upper face of the member 2'6 holding it downwardly and opposing forward motion thereof, thus locking the member 26 against release, As shown, the link 36 is substantially on dead center within the locking position but this may be varied depending upon the exact construction of the device and the degree of locking desired,

A spring 38 normally urges the link 36 to its locking position and a lchain 39 connected to a ring 40 on the outside of the casing affords means to raise the link 36 when desired to load or unload the device.

Means may be provided, as desired, to bring the garments to the front of the device during unloading. To accomplish this purpose the rod 25 may be made in the form of a tube having a slot 4I in its side (see Figures 3 and 4) and on this rod there is provided a ring l2 of such size and shape that it will engage the hook portions of the hangers placed on the rod 25. This ring A2 is connected through the-slot QI with a chain 43 extending forwardly within the rod and outwardl57 of the casing terminating in a ring 44. When the garments are placed on the rod 25, the ring 11| is pushed to the back position. During unloading, therefore, a pull on the chain 43 will bring the garments to the front of the device. The sliding cam 33a tends to force the locking member 26 backward into place.

In Figure 8 there is shown an alternative locking mechanism in which there is provided upon the rod 25 a wing headed screw 45 in position to pass through that opening 33 which is made of a size and shape to receive it. This screw is so positioned that it will hold the rod 25 backwardly within the device so as to maintain the link 30 substantially Vertical, thus holding the back of the member 26 downwardly and at the same time the head of screw 55 holds the front of the member 26 down so that the member is in position to lock all of the hangers atv once.

With this construction it will be clear that garments may be loaded into the device by opening the door and hanging them-upon the rod 25. The locking member 25 being held out of place in the meantime. As soon as the device is lled, the hangers are locked in place upon the rod 25 by means of the member 26 and thereupon the casing itself is locked shut and the device is loaded upon a truck or railroad car for shipment.

When the casing reaches its destination the door may be opened and the locking member 2G raised, whereupon the garments may be taken out of the device at will but by reason of the fact that they have been hanging in a vertical position all during shipment they will not be mussed and they can be immediately placed upon display for sale without re-pressing.

vAs the garments are removed from the device those at the back may be brought forward by pulling upon the chain 43.

In accordance with the constructions of Figures 9, and 11 there is provided upon one of the side members I6 a guideway 50 which may take the form of a container constructed to receive an enlarged end 5I of a bar 52. This bar is positioned to extend toward the center of the container in position to engage hangers upon the rod 25. In order to thoroughly brace the bar 52 there is provided a diagonal brace member 53 which extends backwardly to engage the channel 5i) at a point 54 spaced from the enlarged end 5i and the member 54 and the enlarged end 5i are preferably connected and braced to each other by means of a short central bar 55 which connects them within the channel 50. In this manner the bar 52 may be easily slid from the back to the front of the device in the channel 55 but which has its position definitely and positively maintained otherwise. A spring 55 connected at one end 51 to the casing and at the other end 58 to the bar 52 urges the bar to one extreme of its travel and a chain 59 may be used to pull the bar to the opposite end of its travel. As illustrated, the spring 56 is so mounted as to constantly urge thehangers towards the front or open end of the device and the chain 59 operating over a pulley 60 may be used to pull the bar 52 to the back end of the device to permit loading of hangers upon the pole 25. A hook 5i is provided to receive the end of the chain 59 and to hold the bar 52 in its backward position during loading and shipment.

With this device it is possible to load clothing into the container in a position in which the weight of the clothing itself keeps it from mussing to ship it while still in a vertical position without other packing so that when the device is removed from the truck or railway car the clothing will be at once ready for exhibition and wear.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and speciiic features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A shipping device for clothing comprising a container of rigid material having a substantially rectangular body portion closed by a roof portion, said body portion having a door in one end wall thereof of substantially the full size of the end wall and said roof portion having a roof sloping upwardly toward its center line, a pole carried by said top portion parallel to and below said center line and extending from one end wall of said roof portion to the other, said roof portion being firmly attached to said body portion to close the container, said parts being constructed and arranged that garments may be hung by hangers. from said pole within said container and a bar lying parallel to said pole and movable from a position spaced from said pole to a position in contact with hangers upon arranged that when said bar is in contact with sald hangers said link will be substantially vertical and means upon the front end of said bar for locking it in hanger locking position, whereby said bar may be moved from its spaced position along a downwardly lbiased path rearwardly into locking position and locked in said position.

2. A rigid shipping container for clothing comprising a body having a flat bottom wall, side and end walls and a top member, one 'of said end walls comprising a door and all of said other walls being rigidly connected together, a pole rigidly supported from'said top member below and paralled to its longitudinal center lines, a locking rod having one end connected to-said top member by a link constructed and arranged to permit said rod to move from a position parallel to and fitting tightly against said pole to clamp hangers thereon, to a position to free said hangers and a latch member constructed and arranged to engage said rod in the locking position to retain it in said position or to release it.

ERNEST FRIED. 

